I'd bet that you're correct, Jenise. It must be some sort of powder that has a vaguely wine-related flavor to it. Heck, if they can make "Cajun Squirrel" flavoring for potato chips, they can make anything.

Don't like cheese popcorn (not least because it is usually accomplished with powdered orange 'cheese food'). Don't like anything sweet with popcorn. Only adulterant I can tolerate in popcorn is garlic, and I wouldn't have believed it until I crushed a clove into the melted butter we poured over the popcorn - delightful!

Mike Filigenzi wrote:I'd bet that you're correct, Jenise. It must be some sort of powder that has a vaguely wine-related flavor to it. Heck, if they can make "Cajun Squirrel" flavoring for potato chips, they can make anything.

Hey Mike, what the hell does a Cajun squirrel look like? Of course more important what do they taste like? Chicken

Mike Filigenzi wrote:I'd bet that you're correct, Jenise. It must be some sort of powder that has a vaguely wine-related flavor to it. Heck, if they can make "Cajun Squirrel" flavoring for potato chips, they can make anything.

Hey Mike, what the hell does a Cajun squirrel look like? Of course more important what do they taste like? Chicken

Well, in a potato chip, they taste a little like barbecue flavor chips. They're made (or at least were made) by Walker's, in England. I'm not sure where they came up with the flavor profile, but I'm glad I wasn't involved in that research!

Don't like cheese popcorn (not least because it is usually accomplished with powdered orange 'cheese food'). Don't like anything sweet with popcorn. Only adulterant I can tolerate in popcorn is garlic, and I wouldn't have believed it until I crushed a clove into the melted butter we poured over the popcorn - delightful!

I'm a purist tool. Love plain butter, why would I need anything else? (Adding garlic wouldn't offend me, but it wouldn't improve my experience.) But in the past couple years I've become a fan of truffle oil and herbs d'Provence.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Don't like cheese popcorn (not least because it is usually accomplished with powdered orange 'cheese food'). Don't like anything sweet with popcorn. Only adulterant I can tolerate in popcorn is garlic, and I wouldn't have believed it until I crushed a clove into the melted butter we poured over the popcorn - delightful!

I'm a purist tool. Love plain butter, why would I need anything else? (Adding garlic wouldn't offend me, but it wouldn't improve my experience.) But in the past couple years I've become a fan of truffle oil and herbs d'Provence.

Yes to the herbs, forgot about them and we do use them. Truffle oil - meh. If you knew what it was you might not be so keen on it. It has zero truffle content. It is (quoting Wiki), thioether (2,4-dithiapentane), in an oil base.

"Thioether is a carbon-sulphur-carbon-sulphur-carbon chain that you get when combining a cabbage-smelling thiol compound with formaldehyde. The thiol compound most commonly used in this chemical reaction can also be found in bad breath and flatulence."

Bill Spohn wrote:Yes to the herbs, forgot about them and we do use them. Truffle oil - meh. If you knew what it was you might not be so keen on it. It has zero truffle content. It is (quoting Wiki), thioether (2,4-dithiapentane), in an oil base.

Sure, the marketplace is full of fake truffle oil. But there is such a thing as REAL truffle oil, Bill, and I've got the real thing. It's GOOD.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Bill Spohn wrote:Yes to the herbs, forgot about them and we do use them. Truffle oil - meh. If you knew what it was you might not be so keen on it. It has zero truffle content. It is (quoting Wiki), thioether (2,4-dithiapentane), in an oil base.

Sure, the marketplace is full of fake truffle oil. But there is such a thing as REAL truffle oil, Bill, and I've got the real thing. It's GOOD.

Are you sure?

Read a site like this carefully and they don't come out and state that they use synthetic flavouring nor do they say it is real.

To be fair, many people seem to like the artificial oils, and there is nothing wrong with that. My distaste for them stems from the over use of them more than from any basic antipathy to the flavour. As the article above says:

"And Americans, as many were quick to note, like big flavors. “People expect the slap in the face of truffle oil,” said Jonathan Gold, the restaurant critic for LA Weekly. “They have lost their taste for subtlety; they want bigger than life flavors that are amped up with aromatics. That’s American cooking at the moment.” Many chefs are turning to truffle oil as a way to get truffle aromas that, as many chefs put it, “jump off the plate”

Reminds one of popular tastes in American (and Australian) wines, too.

I'm with you, Bill: I'm so sensitive to truffle oil that I find it quite offputting, though in fairness I'd give Jenise's oil a try before condemning it (disclaimer: I'd probably try anything prepared by Jenise). I also find myself now quite sensitive to herbs, so I also shy away from anything with rosemary, dill or more than a smidgen of oregano in it. Thyme, sage, basil and tarragon are still OK for me.

Me too. I'm skeptical about any truffle oil because the vast majority are fakes and many that aren't are no good anyway (very hard to preserve the truffle taste/smell in oil - it fades quickly apparently). The fact that hers has a piece of alleged truffle floating in it means absolutely zip - many are faked that way, with real bits or fake bits (of something else). I find it is a product to stay away from. If you want truffle, buy a truffle.

Treat claims about truffle oils like you would claims from Ebay sellers from China and you won't go far wrong!